A good subject for discussion, a big hand to MACH1 for kicking the ball into play.
The challenge faced by aviation is just another part of the biggest challenge facing the human specie. That is Nature v Humans. We have since the year dot, tried to conquer the forces of nature. There have been many occasions where Nature has shown its strength in defeating us. Will we manage to destroy the planet. No I don`t think so. It will destroy us. Before it does so, it will first impoverish us, then humiliate us. How will it begin. It will begin by us starting scrapping over the ever diminishing resources, over arable and habitable land. Over energy and its sources.
Our concerns over the loss of the comforts of aviation is of little consequence. Whatever we do requires a process of conversion in order to produce energy. Our own bodily survival requires it. The whole equation reduces to one of how much we need to take from Nature to sustain ourselves whilst maintaining a balance between the two. That means no waste. So difficult to achieve, almost impossible I`d say. Forget the aeroplane and the motor car, just for a moment, just think of that noisy little lawn mower that will soon be out every weekend beltching out smoke. What is it for, just to cut the grass on our perfect lawns and make them the envy of our friends and neighbours and appease her indoors. For those who might say go electric, I`d say how did that electricity got to my socket. If the answer to that was, solar/wind/tide/nuclear, I`d say how were all those machines and all the parahanelia that goes with them got there and ended up squirting that juice of energy at my socket. I don`t know how many sockets there are in my house, I`ve never counted them, but at any given time there are so many things plugged into them. Kettles, phones, washing machines, driers, dish washers, fridges, freezers, clocks, TV`s, computers, vac cleaners, battery chargers, printers, tooth brushes, light bulbs, radios, hifi`s, drills, saws, oh yes, my swizz espersso coffee maker. At the push of a button the whole world is right there at my finger tips and I don`t have to move a muscle, only those little ones for the tips of two fingers at worse. That is not so much different these days when one is sitting in the pilot`s seat of a modern jet liner, don`t you agree. Except perhaps I have more buttons to play with at home.